lilypad66

[lilypad66]

David, Thanks for the clarification on the ‘woodshed’ term. I suspected that it might be something like that. Your use of the term seems reasonably appropriate in this case as you were working on some specific projects for the limited time that you had the house to yourself.

Lily

[lilypad66]

David, Thank you for starting this thread. I hadn’t heard the term ‘woodshed’ before, but now I’ve started noticing it on various jazz sites. Does it just mean practicing in general?

My ideal practice session goes as follows:

– 5 minutes on rhythm
– 5-10 minutes on scales and arpeggios
– 10 minutes chords & sight reading. I go through a fake book, one page per session, avoiding tunes
I’m familiar with. I start by playing the chords the first time through and then go back and do my
best to sight read the melody. Then I check YouTube and listen to what the song should really sound
like.
– 35 minutes on ‘fun’ stuff – Learning new repertoire, perfecting repertoire, keeping old repertoire in
memory by playing it once a week. I also try to get in some ear training during the session.

This all should only add up to an hour, but I timed it once and even using a timer for each activity, I wound up taking an hour and a half. More often than not I’ll get obsessed on various things, lose track of time and three hours may go by with some things still not done.

[lilypad66]

Thanks, Tony. I’m taking your advice on the scale practice. I’ve read recommendations on following the cycle counterclockwise for jazz practice. One of my other piano books (How to Play the Piano Despite Years of Lessons) and an online course (Piano For All) that I purchased a few months ago actually present the chart backwards (flipped or reversed).

I haven’t posted on Piano Forum because I’ve just started reading it and haven’t registered yet. I’m using my nick name, Lee, for this forum, but my real name is Elizabeth. I was given piano lessons as a child after my parents heard me sit down and play simple triad chords from the Nutcracker Suite after hearing it for the first time. My ear is pretty good, but I’ve always struggled at sight reading. I haven’t owned a piano since I moved away from home after high school. I purchased a keyboard in 2005 when I retired and have been on a quest to learn to play jazz ever since.

I’ve noted that a number of former students seem to return to this course, so it seems like something worth sticking with.

Lee

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